One Of Our Agents Is Missing
by rankamateur
Summary: Amanda goes out of town and Lee goes missing - without a trace....
1. Default Chapter

One Of Our Agents Is Missing

by rankamateur

Reference to "Saved By The Bells", by Joel Steiger and Stu Krissman. I took the liberty of giving their character "Rostov" a first name.

Also references to "Service Above And Beyond", written by Peter Lefcourt; "Affair At Bromfield Hall", written by Juanita Bartlett and "Ship Of Spies" written by Robert Bielak.

Scarecrow and Mrs. King belong to Warner Bros. and Shoot The Moon Enterprises Ltd.

AU

About mid Third Season.

Amanda goes out of town and Lee goes missing - without a trace...

Thanks to randibaby and Buffy for checking this over. All remaining mistakes are mine.

--

The Monday lunch crowd was noisy, as usual.

Harry Saunders and Roger Stevens were enjoying their meal of hot roast beef sandwich and ice cold beer. Harry found the atmosphere particularly pleasant, especially as compared to his recent surroundings - a cell in a Federal prison. As he took a long sip from his frosty glass, he glanced around the restaurant.

"Well, I'll be damned!" He put his glass down on the table with enough force to spill a few drops.

"What?" His companion asked.

"Be subtle about it, but look over there, across that barrier into the non-smoking section. The guy sitting there with a foxy brunette."

"Don't see who you mean," Roger said, still craning his neck to look in the general direction Harry had indicated.

"Well, I'll just tell you. It's Lee Stetson."

"Who?" Roger asked, shrugging his shoulders.

"Lee Stetson, the agent who busted Dr. Mumford's operation."

"I wasn't around for that, remember?" Roger responded between bites of his sandwich.

"It was about six, no seven years ago. Mumford was doing a little business with the Russians and making damn good money in the process. I was just low level muscle but the pay was great. Anyway, The Agency, actually Stetson, figured out what was going on and came marchin' in and arrested most of us. The good doctor managed to escape. He had enough money to live on some Caribbean island until a couple of years ago. I guess the money ran out or he figured the heat was off, or both. Anyway, he's been living in Maryland, paying for interesting bits of information which, I'm sure, he sells to the Ruskies at a nice mark-up."

"This Mumford sounds like our kind of guy. So, do you think he'd pay to know where Stetson is?"

"You know," Harry said thoughtfully, "he just might. Let's follow Stetson and the woman and see what we can find out."

Motioning to the waitress, Harry got the bill and paid it so he and Roger would be ready to leave the moment that their quarry was ready to go.

"They're getting up. Go get the car," Harry nudged Roger into action. "I'll walk out behind them. Be ready to pick me up."

Roger ran the half block to where his SUV was parked. He got in, started the engine and waited until he saw his partner motion to him. He pulled forward to the front of the restaurant. Harry got in.

"They went to the parking lot on the side of the building. There they are," Harry pointed to a car which had just pulled out of the driveway, "in that silver Corvette. Boy, I didn't know agents could afford hot cars like that. Nice to know we pay 'em such a good salary, right?"

"Yeah. At least we would if we actually paid taxes."

Roger eased into the traffic a few car lengths behind Lee and Amanda. They followed the Corvette all the way to Georgetown and to an innocuous looking building with a sign out front which read - International Federal Film.

--

Harry had Roger stop at the first phone booth he could find. He got out of the car, entered the booth and closed the door. Fishing around in his wallet, he found the piece of paper he needed. He put the requisite coins in the machine and dialed a number. "Hello, Dr. Mumford, Dr. Harold Mumford?"

"I'm afraid you have the wrong number. My name is Price, Delbert Price."

"Right, Mr. Price. This is Harry Saunders. It's been a while. I ahh, I have some information I think will interest you. It concerns a mutual friend, Lee Stetson."

There was silence on the line for several moments - then - "Harry, it's good to hear from you. Let's meet and discuss our friend."

"Anywhere you say, Doctor, err, I mean, Mr. Price."

--

The meeting with Dr. Mumford went very well. He knew any number of people who would be willing to pay large sums of money for whatever information could be got out of Lee Stetson. He had the access codes to The Agency computers. He had knowledge of US and other Western agents all over the world. He was aware of ongoing investigations. He was certainly a prime target for interrogation.

It was decided that Harry and Roger would follow the agent for the next several days. They wanted to see if there was any pattern to his movements. At this point, the consensus was that taking him at night, from his apartment, was probably the best course.

--

Lee and Amanda sat at a quiet table in the back of what was becoming their favorite restaurant, Emilio's.

"So, you're taking off today? This afternoon?"

"Yeah. Five days in the great outdoors. I'm kinda looking forward to it," Amanda smiled. Actually, she had rather mixed emotions. She was glad to be able to spend the time with her sons and her mother, but she wasn't looking forward to all that time away from Lee.

"Well, I ahh, I guess I'll just have to do all that paper work by myself for the next four or five days," Lee grimaced.

"I'll be back in town next Wednesday afternoon and back in the office on Thursday morning. Just stall and leave as much of it as you can for me. I'll be glad to do it when I get back," she said, patting his arm.

"That's a deal."

--

Lee slammed the door shut and threw his keys on the entry hall table. He took off his jacket and dropped it on the couch. He continued undressing as he walked towards his bedroom. After a quick shower, he got comfortable in a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. He was comfortable, but bored. He headed towards the kitchen to check and see if he actually had anything edible in the refrigerator. Amanda would be gone for five days and he was bored already. 'This is ridiculous,' he told himself. 'She's going to be roughing it in the woods with her family till next Wednesday. Fine. I have four black books. There's no reason for me to be bored or lonely on a Friday night.'

He was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing. He looked through the peephole. Someone in what looked like a delivery man's outfit was standing there.

"Yes, what is it?"

"I have a package for Mr. Lee Stetson. I need you to sign for it, sir."

Lee sighed. Part of his mind was wary of an unknown person delivering an unordered package. But another part was pleased at the thought that maybe it was something from Amanda. Some kind of going away gift, maybe some kind of a gag gift. He smiled at the idea of her sending him a going away present, when she was the one who was going. Such a thoughtful gesture would be just like her.

He opened the door.

"Here you are sir. Please sign right here."

The last thing Lee remembered was struggling with a guy who was shoving a cloth over his nose and mouth, and who was built like a tackle for a pro football team.

--

Harry really enjoyed driving the silver Corvette. It handled like a dream. There weren't too many other cars on the highway on a Saturday morning. He was sorry when he arrived at the predetermined spot on Highway One, and had to pull off and park. In a few minutes, Roger pulled his Ford Bronco off the road and stopped just long enough for Harry to jump in. As soon as traffic permitted, Roger turned the Bronco around and headed back towards town.

--

It was early Monday morning. Lee Stetson had not shown up for work and there was no answer at his apartment. Billy was getting worried.

Francine Desmond sat frowning at the computer screen, until she remembered the deleterious long-term consequences of such an expression.

"Hey Billy, look at this," she called her to boss, interrupting his trip across the bullpen.

"What have you got?"

"I've been checking cars that were abandoned over the weekend, looking for the vehicle used in the Reiser case, and I found this," she said, pointing at an entry on the screen.

"That looks like it might be Lee's car."

"It is. I've already cross-checked his license number."

"Where was it found?"

"Out on Highway One, in Virginia."

"Let's talk to the local Highway Patrol. See if they'll set up road blocks in that area. Maybe we'll get really lucky and they'll stop somebody who saw something Friday night or Saturday morning."

"I'll get on the phone right away. Now, if their boss wants to talk to my boss...," she asked.

"I'll be in my office." Billy turned and headed back the way he had just come.

--

Sergeant Mulvany was a happy man. The twenty-seventh car he had stopped was driven by one Simon Baxter. Mr. Baxter drove this same route at about the same time every morning except Sunday, on his way to work. On Saturday, he had seen a beautiful silver Corvette pull off the road and park. He had also seen another vehicle, a Ford Bronco, dark green in color, with Virginia plates, pull off and pick up the man who had been driving the Corvette. The next time he looked in his mirror, the Ford was gone. He assumed that it had turned around and headed back towards DC.

--

"Here's the report on Lee's car, Billy," Francine said, dropping the paper on the desk. "No prints, nothing, wiped clean."

"What about the rearview mirror?"

Francine shook her head. "These guys know their business. It was clean too."

"Oh, brother," Billy said, reaching in his desk drawer for the bottle of Tums.

--

Lee was taken from the small room where he had been held, to another room, his hands still tied. He was placed on a bed and given an injection. As his captors fired question after question, he said his mantra - over and over and over again. Finally, he passed out.

"Amanda, Amanda," Lee called out softly. She was gone. Where? She had been there just a moment ago. She was wearing a beautiful, long white gown. He had on a white dinner jacket. They were dancing and he held her close, very close... It was a dream he realized as he finally opened his eyes. As things gradually came into focus, he could see that he was back in the same small room. He was lying on the bed with his hands and feet bound with ropes. A little bit of light filtered in through the transom at the top of the door. Where was he and how did he get here? No answer came at that moment. And where had that dream come from? Ahh, he and Amanda had been dressed like that for their fake wedding on San Angelo. But there had been no reception - no dancing. Where had that come from?

--

"So far the drugs haven't worked. Smackin' him around hasn't worked. He just keeps mumblin' something that I can't understand," Roger complained.

"His mantra," Mumford supplied.

"His what?" Roger was unfamiliar with the term.

"Mantra." The doctor began to explain to Roger, as patiently as he could. "It's something agents are trained or train themselves, to say over and over again. They sort of hypnotize themselves so they aren't aware of what's going on around them or with them, and they can't or won't, answer questions."

"Great."

"You know that answering machine tape you picked up from his apartment?"

"Of course," Roger answered.

"Well, I've listened to it. There are five messages. Four are from women whose names all seem to end in Y or I. They all seem to be trying to sound sexy and they all made some sort of indecent proposal to Stetson. The last call was from Mrs. King - Amanda."

"Yeah," Harry interjected, "I heard her talkin' to Stetson at lunch one day. Her voice sounds sexy without her even tryin'."

"Forget that!" The doctor was clearly annoyed. "The point is - when you were following him - they were always together. You tailed him at night and where did he go? Over to her house. Whose name has he called as he was coming out from under the effects of the drug? Hers. She is the key to breaking Stetson. We need to grab her..."

"She's not home. I told you that. we've been by her house several times. The car's gone and there's nobody around and it looks like the lights and maybe a radio, are on a timer."

"All right, we have to make him think that we've got her and that she is in danger. I have a friend who works for the KGB. Her name is Sonja. She is trained in voice impersonations. I'll play the tape of Mrs. King and have her record a few provocative sequences for us." The doctor smiled, pleased with his scheme.

"You really think that if he has to choose between his job - national security - and Amanda King, he'll pick..."

"Mrs. King," Dr. Mumford interrupted. "Well, I'm not positive of course, but nothing else has worked. If we can't get anything out of him using the King woman, then we might as well terminate him."

"You're right," Harry agreed. "Boy, it sounded so easy - grabbing him and druggin' him and then pumpin' him for information. Who knew he'd be this hard to get anything out of."

Dr. Mumford nodded.

"He's the Agency's best," Roger said solemnly.

"Yeah," Harry agreed.

"You were caught by their best," Roger continued. "Does that make you feel any better?"

"NO," Harry and the doctor said in unison.

--

Lee was vaguely aware of being dragged off to that other room again. More injections. More drugs. This time, he heard a voice. It sounded like Amanda's voice - a little bit. But the longer he listened, the more sure he was that it wasn't Amanda... 'Good. She's safe,' he thought. Then more of his mantra - which seemed to work - '...better than their drugs,' he thought.

Lee could feel the weight in his arms. He looked down. It was Amanda. She was wearing a lovely blue evening dress. He carried her down some stairs and into a room and laid her gently on the bed. No...it wasn't a bed. It was a gurney and the medial attendants pushed him aside so they could work on her, help her, stabilize her. 'Amanda, are you all right?' He woke suddenly and realized that Amanda wasn't there. Of course she wasn't there! He was remembering the Delano case.

--

"We've had this guy for days and no luck. He hasn't told us a thing, Having your friend from the KGB imitate his partner hasn't helped at all." Roger said in a disgusted tone of voice. "Maybe we should start breaking a few of his bones."

"No," Dr. Mumford responded thoughtfully. "We need to try one more thing. We need to obtain the genuine article."

"What? What do you mean?" Roger asked.

"We need to pick up Mrs. King and bring her here - show her to Stetson and do whatever we have to do to her, in order to get him to talk. If that doesn't work, then we get rid of both of them. I want you to check out her house again tonight. Where ever she went, she may be back by now."

"We'll go by late this evening," Harry said.

--

Once again Lee was taken to the room. The routine was the same - injections, drugs, questions, his mantra and finally he was taken back and dumped on the bed. He looked forward to the end of these unpleasant sessions and to the dreams they seemed to produce. This time he and Amanda, who was wearing another lovely gown, this one black with gray accents, were walking in a lovely garden. No, wait. It wasn't a garden. It was a...a maze. And there was a dead man. As he gradually came to, he remembered - the maze at Bromfield Hall...

--

Francine walked into Billy's office without waiting for the usual formalities.

"Any news?" She didn't need to say news about what or who. Billy knew what she meant.

"No. Nothing. No clues. It's like the earth swallowed him up."

"What about that car, the Ford Bronco?"

"Nothing on it either. There are so many of them. We have people checking out the registrations for all similar vehicles, but, no luck yet. Nobody suspicious. Francine, when is Mrs. King due back in town?"

"Ahh, today I think...today is Wednesday. Yeah, late this afternoon. Why?"

"I want you to organize surveillance teams. I want her house watched and I want people following her every minute that she is out of this building."

"Why? Do you think whoever has Lee will try and take Amanda too? What for, Billy?"

"Look, these characters may very well have been watching Lee for some time before they grabbed him. If so, they would have seen him and Amanda together. If they think she is his partner, they might think they can use her to get to him. Got it?"

"They may, they might. That's pretty thin, Billy. You usually want more to go on."

"I know. But in this case, there isn't anything more to go on. May and might are all we have."

"I suppose they might think that they can use her. But you don't think Lee would give away secrets just because they have Amanda - do you?"

"Francine, you remember a few years back, when Lee walked out of here with Alexander Rostov in order to trade him for Amanda? He was charged with treason for that little caper and he had only worked with her for a few months. Now he's worked with her for over two years."

"OK. I'll start setting up the teams right now." Francine stood looking at Billy for a long moment. Whatever was on her mind, she decided to keep it to herself, for now anyway. She turned and left the office.

--

Amanda pulled the station wagon up the driveway and parked.

"Oh," Dotty said, stretching. "I am so glad to be home."

"Yeah, me too mother. But, it was nice for the four of us to get out there, back to nature, and sort of...reconnect with each other."

"Yes, well, right now I can't wait to reconnect with a real bed and food that was cooked in an oven!"

"Mo-ther... Hey, fellas," Amanda called when sounds from the tv set in the family suddenly filled the air. "You come right back here and give us a hand. Take your gear into the house."

"Oh, mom," Philip moaned, as he appeared in the door-way.

"Now, just because we're home doesn't mean we stop helping each other and doing our share of the work," she said cheerfully.

"Right, mom," Philip said.

"Right, mom," Jamie echoed.

The boys had learned that, in most cases, the quicker they agreed with the grownups, the shorter the lecture.


	2. Agent - Conclusion

It was going on ten o'clock on Wednesday evening and Frank Duffy was bored. Surveillance was boring. Either that or frightening, if something did happen. 'But,' he told himself, 'Mrs. King is such a nice person. Looking after her and family is worth a little boredom.'  
  
As the agents watched the brightly lit houses, several parties seemed to be in full swing. They were taking down license plate numbers of all the cars that were parked or driving through the block. So far they had about thirty that would have to be checked out. The King house was dark. Everyone seemed to be asleep. Frank had gone around to the back yard and all the lights were out in the kitchen too.  
  
"Hey Frank," Mike Martin, Frank's partner for this case, poked his arm. "See that white sedan cruising by? That's the second, or maybe the third time, he's been by."  
  
"Did you get the plate number?  
  
"You bet."  
  
"Did you get a good look at him?"  
  
"No. There were two men in the car. The driver was wearing a baseball cap. That's about all I could see through those damn tinted windows. I thought those things were illegal!"  
  
"Well, don't worry. We'll find out who owns the car and if he had any business being here."  
  
---------  
  
Thoroughly rested and refreshed after her days camping in the woods, Amanda walked towards the IFF building with a spring in her step. She entered the Georgetown foyer and greeted Mrs. Marsten. "Good morning. I believe the word for today is *stopwatch*."  
  
"Very good, Mrs. King." The older woman smiled and handed Amanda her badge. "By the way, Mr. Melrose left word that he wanted to see you as soon as you came in."  
  
"Thank you." She got in the closet elevator and started down to the lower level. She had a vague feeling of uneasiness. Her brow was slightly creased - 'I'm just being silly,' she thought.  
Arriving at the door of Billy's office, she knocked softly and smiled brightly. Billy motioned her to come in.  
  
"Good morning Sir."  
  
"Morning Amanda. How was your trip?"  
  
"Oh, it was just wonderful. We had an absolutely..........."  
  
Billy raised his hand to stop what could have been a very long and detailed description of her family's outing. He paused, trying to think of the best way to put this - some words that would soften the blow. There wasn't any good way to deliver such bad news. "Mrs. King, Amanda, I have some...disturbing news." He stopped and took a deep breath. "Lee is missing. No one has seen or heard from him, since Friday night."  
  
"Oh, my gosh." Her voice was shaking so, she could barely say the words, ask the next question. "Sir, do you know - is Lee.........is Lee still alive?"  
  
"We have no reason to think he isn't. His car was found abandoned off Highway One in Virginia. There was no sign of violence in the car and...there were no clues, no prints. Nothing has turned up so far. No ransom demands have been made. We think he was kidnapped by somebody, probably some foreign agents, who want information. Now, you know Lee is a pretty tough nut to crack. They probably haven't got anything out of him yet, so they may be looking for an edge. Amanda, there's a chance they may be looking for you."  
  
"What? Why? Am I......is my family in danger?" Amanda asked fearfully.  
  
"We've been watching your house since you got back. Look, I don't think they would want your family, your mother or your boys. After all, they don't know if Lee had any kind of relationship with them. But they must have seen you two together. They would assume that you're partners and so...."  
  
"And so they might want to kidnap me too," she finished for him.  
  
"Yes."  
  
----------------  
  
"Amanda, dear," Dotty called up the stairs. "Joe telephoned earlier. He's coming by this evening. My friend Mr. Davis will be here too. I thought we could have a little cold supper and play some old records and just relax and enjoy ourselves. You've been looking a little anxious ever since you came home from work."  
  
"Yes, mother. I mean, no mother. I'm not anxious. Having Joe and Mr. Davis over will be fine," Amanda called down from her bedroom. 'Great,' she thought, 'all I can do, all I *want* to do, is think about Lee and now I've got to play hostess and pretend that everything is OK.'  
  
--------  
  
It was Thursday night, about nine-thirty PM. Frank and Mike had been making the usual small talk for what seemed like hours. Tonight it was the King house that was lit up. Two men were in the house. One of them Frank knew was Joe King, Mrs. King's former husband. The other, an older man, was probably a friend of Mrs. King's mother. Soft music and laughter could be heard from time to time.  
  
"Look, Frank, there's that same white sedan I saw last night."  
  
"Yeah," Frank looked at the license plate of the car as it slowly moved past 4247 Maplewood Drive. He checked a piece of paper attached to a clipboard, which had been laying on the dash. "Well, well. The car is registered to one Harry Saunders - a con - lives in a hotel for transients. Our people checked and nobody's seen him for about a week. He isn't due to check in with his parole officer until the end of the month, so no one was worried about him."  
  
"Should we follow him?" Mike asked.  
  
"No. Our job is to watch Mrs. King and her family. I wish we could have somebody follow them, but they'll be long gone before any of our guys could get here. Damn!" Frank hit the steering wheel in frustration.  
  
"Take it easy, Frank. For all we know that car is a decoy - somebody tryin' to pull us off Mrs. King's house."  
  
"You're right. It could be a decoy," Frank agreed.   
  
------------  
  
Dr. Mumford was furious. He glared as his two bumbling associates. "Well, now what? You didn't get the King woman last night and now, again tonight, you come back empty handed!"  
  
"Look, doc," Roger began, "ahh, we...well..."  
  
Harry took over. "The first night the whole block was lit up like a Christmas tree. There must've been ten parties goin' on. People walkin' around. There was no way we could get to her without bein' seen. Last night, she had company. A couple guys were there and they stayed until pretty late. We're gonna try again tonight."  
  
"You had better do more than just *try*," Mumford said venomously. "You had better *succeed* this time."  
  
Roger gulped and Harry nodded his head - affirmatively.  
  
---------  
  
It was Friday night. Lee had been missing for a week. Frank and Mike were sitting in their unobtrusive Agency car, when the same white sedan drove by. This time the car parked just a little beyond the driveway of the King house. Two men got out and headed down the drive towards the back of the house. Instantly, Frank was on the radio to Billy who was waiting at IFF. He had a hunch tonight would be the night.  
  
"Billy, two guys are going towards the back of the house. I think this is it. They are going to try and grab Mrs. King."  
  
Billy made the hardest decision he had ever made. "Let 'em take her."  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
"You heard me. Can you get a homing device on their car?"  
  
"You bet. The minute you said *let them take her*, Mike grabbed the homer from the glovebox and was out of here and headed for their car. He's attaching it now. OK. He's on his way back. Here they come Billy, and they've got Amanda!"  
  
"Whatever you do, Frank, *don't* lose them. Have Mike keep us informed of your route. I've got five teams and a helicopter standing by. We're on our way now."  
  
"Good. Mike's taking over."  
  
"They are starting off," Mr. Melrose, Mike said. "They're heading down Maplewood...."   
  
--------------------  
  
An hour later...."OK, Mr. Melrose, they're turning off Mountainview and pulling onto Orchard St. Now they've turned into a driveway.....it's number 67. Frank's driving by the house slowly......I can see the two guys. They've got Mrs. King and they're walking her into the side door of the house."  
  
"Stay put," Billy commanded. "We don't want to do anything to endanger Lee and Amanda. We'll be with you in just a few minutes."  
  
--------  
  
Harry and Roger shoved a now conscious but confused Amanda King into a semi darkened room. When her eyes adjusted to the gloom, she could make out a figure lying on narrow bed. He was asleep or unconscious. It was Lee.  
  
"Oh my gosh," she rushed over and sat on the edge of the bed, beside him, running her hand over his head, through his hair, touching the back of her hand to his forehead. "Lee, Lee, you've got to wake up and sit up."  
  
The only answer was a small groan. She moved down towards the end of the bed and began trying to untie the knot in the rope that bound his ankles. It didn't take very long and she had it undone. She shoved his legs off the side of the bed so that his feet were on the floor. Then she moved back to where she could get her arm under his shoulder and arm and, pushing with all her strength, she managed to get him into a sitting position. Lee opened his eyes and blinked several times, trying to get his bearings.  
  
"Amanda," he said groggily. "Is it really you? You're here. What are you doing here? How did you get here?"  
  
"Lee, quiet. Just a minute. Here, turn a little bit so I can get at your wrists and untie you."  
  
He did as he was told and in a few minutes she had his hands free. He immediately put his arms around her, pulling her into an embrace so tight that she could hardly breath.  
  
It was wonderful but, "Lee, please, I can't breath!"  
  
"Amanda, it's really you. Are you all right?" He held on to her, wanting to assure himself that this was real - that she was real.  
  
"Yes, I'm OK, but I'll be better if you'd stop squashing me."  
  
Lee loosened his grip and moved one hand behind her neck and took one of her hands in his other hand. "I was so worried. I kept seeing us together and, well, I realized that I was just dreaming about some of the cases we'd worked on together, but then... I could hear your voice, or what sounded like your voice calling for help, but somehow I knew it wasn't really you. It was someone trying to sound like you."   
He looked at her for a long moment and then hugging her once more, he let her go and moved away from her a bit. "So, what are you doing here? Do you know where we are? Where's Billy?"  
  
"I don't know where we are. I was knocked out with something - chloroform I guess, so I don't know how far we drove. As far as Billy is concerned - he's probably at home, in bed, asleep at this hour. What're they gonna do with us?"  
  
"Well, I guess whatever drug or drugs they used on me didn't work so..." Lee left the horrifying thought unspoken. 'So they brought Amanda here to break me, to get to me through her.'  
  
"So...., oh my gosh...." Realization had dawned on her. Her eyes widened with fright.   
  
"Amanda, I'll get you out of this," he said, rising unsteadily to his feet.  
  
"Lee, you can hardly stand up. You're in no shape to get *me* or *us* out of anything."  
  
"Just give me a minute." He tried to flex his arm and shoulder muscles and move his legs a bit. "I just need to get the circulation back and I'll be OK."  
  
Just then the door opened and three men were visible. The doctor, Roger and Harry, who was armed, entered the room. All three of them glared menacingly at Amanda.  
  
Lee looked at Amanda, who looked as though she were about to faint.  
  
"All right you guys," Lee started, "just let her go and I'll tell you whatever it is you want to know."  
  
"No deal, Stetson," Dr. Mumford replied coolly. "The lady stays until we get what we want."  
  
"Which is?"  
  
"Start with Agency computer access codes. That's something we can check right away so we'll know if you're really cooperating."  
  
"I only know the few codes I need to get into case files...," Lee began.  
  
At that apparent evasion, Dr. Mumford nodded to Roger who moved over to Amanda. He grabbed her left arm and yanked it up behind her back. She moaned in pain.  
  
"Stop it you...." Recognizing him as the *football player* who had grabbed him outside his apartment, Lee jumped at Roger and, even though the latter was a good four inches taller and thirty pounds heavier, he managed to knock the bigger man to floor. Harry quickly moved forward and, using the butt of his revolver, knocked Lee unconscious. Roger crawled out from under Lee's inert frame and went to stand by his cohorts. Amanda knelt down and took Lee's hand in hers.  
  
"Damn it!" Mumford exclaimed, "now we have to wait until he comes to...."  
  
A voice at the door said with authority, "No you don't."  
  
Amanda looked up, "Oh, Sir!"  
  
The doctor and his henchmen spun around and were greeted with the sight of Billy Melrose, flanked by at least four more agents, all pointing very large guns at them. Harry dropped his revolver. All three raised their hands above their heads.  
  
Lee groaned and sat up, rubbing the back of his head. He looked around the room, his eyes focusing on his old friend and boss. "Billy, what kept you?"  
  
"You forgot to drop a trail of bread crumbs for us to follow, Scarecrow."  
  
"Oh," he got to his feet, with Amanda's help, "my fault."  
  
Relief and happiness were evident in Billy's expression as he watched his team of agents take the doctor and his associates out of the room. "You look a little the worse for wear, Lee. We'll have Dr. McJohn standing by to check you over as soon as we get back to the office."  
  
"Billy, I'm fine. All I needs is ....."  
  
"All you need," Billy cut off his protest, "is a thorough exam to find out what they gave you and if it has any long term consequences. Mrs. King, you ride back with him and make sure he goes directly to the infirmary."  
  
Smiling broadly and holding Lee's arm, Amanda replied, "I'll see to it sir. Happy to do that."  
  
Lee mumbled something under his breath.  
  
"What did you say, Scarecrow?" Billy asked, folding his arms across his chest.  
  
"I said," he started in an irritated tone - which instantly softened as he looked from Billy to Amanda - "I said.... thanks a lot you guys."  
  
--------------------  
  
TAG  
  
Amanda was sitting on the couch in her family room, still thinking about the events of the last twenty-four hours, when a light tapping on the back door interrupted her reverie. Getting up and walking to the door, a smile formed as she saw that it was the person she expected - the one she most wanted to see. She opened the door and stepped outside.  
  
"Hi," she said softly.  
  
"Hi. I just came by to see how you were doing," concern evident in his expression and tone of voice. "These kinds of things can give you the shakes hours after they're over."  
  
"*These kinds of things*? You mean bein' dragged out of my own house and taken by some really bad men to some place I didn't know?"  
  
"That's pretty much what I meant, yes."  
  
"Yeah, I had the shakes. Fortunately, mother bought the story about my being kidnapped by mistake, and she was pretty understanding about why I was having the shakes. I mean...."   
  
"Well, I'm glad she was there for you," Lee said with a smile.  
  
"Yeah. Umm, listen, Lee, ahh I - I wanted to ask you. Umm, would you have given those guys your codes.... I mean - told them what they wanted to know if...." She didn't finish the question.   
  
"I...well..." He looked down and away from Amanda.  
  
"Oh, never mind. I probably don't want to know and you probably don't want to tell." She waved her hand as if to say - it's no big deal.  
  
"Amanda - you're right. I'd just as soon not talk about it. Hey, I don't want to keep you. I bet you'd like to get a good nights sleep after last night and today." He took both her hands in his. "Good night, Amanda. Sleep well." Giving her hands a little squeeze he released them.  
  
"Thanks Lee. You too." She turned and walked back into the house thinking, 'If Billy hadn't showed up to rescue us, I bet he'd have told them *something*.....'  
  
As Lee turned and starting to walk through the yard and back to his car, he thought, 'If Billy hadn't showed up and rescued us, I probably would have told them *everything*.....'  
  
end 


End file.
